He Saved Others
Matthew 27: 32,
“And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down they watched him there; And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.”
He Saved Others
Throughout his ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ touched the lives of the people around Him. He was gentle, meek and lowly. He was moved with compassion to heal the sick. He was a lover of children and a friend to the friendless. He gave the blind men back their sight. He delivered the widows dead and only son back into her arms. He delivered the dead daughter of Jairus back to her parents alive again. He was good and pure, a lover of souls. And he was loved by those whose lives he touched. We see how Mary loved him, washing His feet with her tears, and drying them with her hair.
There was never such a man as this one called Jesus of Nazareth. There was never such a man, who commanded demons to leave a human being, and they obeyed him. There was never such a man who cleansed lepers with the touch of his hand. There was never such a man, whose words raised the dead to life again. There was never such a man who strode upon the waters of the sea, and whose voice the raging storm obeyed. There was never such a man. There was never such a savior.
And, yet, there was never such a portrait of pain, never such an image of misery, of suffering, of shame, of weakness, of helplessness. There was never such a sight of despair and hopelessness, as when he, the one who even the winds obeyed, the one whose voice caused demons to tremble, looked down upon those who loved him, as those who hated him hurled insults and ridicule at him. Even those who were crucified with him ridiculed and mocked him.
It was required that a prisoner carry his own cross to the place of execution. Not only had Jesus already been scourged, His flesh was lacerated and hanging in ribbons. His punishment was simply more than His physical human body could bear. Though He was all God, He was all man, and He collapsed under the heavy timber of the cross. The Roman soldiers drafted the first man they could find, Simon by name, from the country of Cyrene. He was, no doubt, a Jew who had returned to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration.
They “compelled” him to carry the cross. They made him do it against his will. The cross was the ultimate form of degradation. Crucifixion was the supreme method of killing the worst of the worst criminals. You didn’t even talk about a cross in polite company. You can imagine his humiliation and resentment at having to do this, having to carry a Roman cross, an instrument of unspeakable cruelty. When Simon touched that cross, he was considered under the law to be ceremonially unclean, and could not take part in the Passover ritual for which he would have had to travel over 700 miles to attend. For a Jewish man, their could be little worse than being forced to carry an unclean cross to an unclean place on what would soon be a high holy day.
Mark refers to Simon as though the early church would know who he was talking about.
Mark 15:21, “And they compelled one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.”
May I say that something happened to that man, Simon, on that day, as he carried the cross of Jesus? You see, I do not know much about Simon, but I know about Jesus. Jesus was innocent. He was falsely accused, judged wrongly by a kangaroo court in the middle of the night, in violation of biblical law.
But Simon was not innocent. He was born in sin and shaped in iniquity, as you and I were. He deserved to carry that cross, as you and I did. He deserved to pay for his sins. And, though, according to Jewish law, he was now ceremonially unclean, and could not partake in the Passover, he was unknowingly part of the very fulfillment of the meaning of the Passover, as Christ, our Passover, the Lamb of God which takes the away the sins of the world, was being sacrificed before his very eyes.
What was it like for Simon when he learned the truth? It may have happened that day. It may have happened later. But somewhere, some time, he learned that Jesus took his place that day. That was your cross, Simon. You see, Simon, the wages of sin is death. You were guilty, and the penalty was death. But Jesus took your place!
You see, he saved others. Himself he could not save.
Simon, who was following his religion, his ritual, coming to Jerusalem for the Passover feast, as he had so many times, every year of his life. And, after every Passover was finished, he returned home the same man he was when he left. But this Passover was different. It wasn’t just another religious ceremony, another ritual, another scripted prayer. Simon met Jesus that day, and his life was forever changed. That day, the Passover, the lamb of God, saved Simon. That day, Jesus Paid the price for Simon.
He saved others…
Some of us have been following our religion. We have come to church, year after year, service after service, we followed traditions, rituals, and routines. And much of that is good. But, can I tell you, no religion will ever be enough. No ritual, no tradition. We need to get ahold of Jesus before we leave this place tonight. He is here to save. He is here to deliver. He is here to heal.
You won’t leave here like you came, in Jesus name. You won’t be sad, oppressed, tormented, sick or lame!
Matthew described the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus with three short words, “they crucified him…”
Few details are provided in the gospels. But there are details provided by the prophets and the Psalms. I want you to know that the Cross of Jesus was real. When they beat him, it was real. When they spat upon Him, it was real. When they whipped him, it was real. When they nailed the nails in his hands and in his feet, it was real.
The Psalms predict the crucifixion of Jesus in a very personal way, describing what Jesus saw and felt, while hanging upon the cross.
Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?”
He felt forsaken by God, and rejected by man, and he cried out, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
Psalm 22:6-8, “I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.“He trusts in the LORD,” they say “let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”
And we know that, at the foot of the cross, they mocked him just as the Psalmist prophesied.
Mt. 27:39 “And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross…He saved others; himself he cannot save.”
He Saved Others…
Psalms 22:14-18
“I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.”
Psalms 69:3-4, 7, 9, 20-21
“I am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; My eyes fail while I wait for my God. Those who hate me without a cause Are more than the hairs of my head; They are mighty who would destroy me, Being my enemies wrongfully; Though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it. (He came to restore what the thief had stolen) Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Shame has covered my face. Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. Reproach has broken my heart, And I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”
Jesus was crucified between two thieves. The Bible says they threw the same insults at Him. But something started to change in the heart of one of those dying men. At first, he was a mocker, but, as he looked at Jesus, something changed. He began to realize, this is more than just a man. This is my only hope! He turned to the other dying thief, and, though he had insulted him before, he now defended Jesus. Turning to Jesus, he said the most important words of his existence. At the very end of his sinful life, he had a change of heart. And then, even while he was suffering the ultimate punishment for his crimes, he trusted in Jesus, “Lord, Remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
And there, at Calvary, at the very end, in the last fading minutes of his life, Jesus saved him. There, while he was dying, Jesus paid the price for him.
He saved others. Himself, he could not save.
Come with me to the foot of the cross. Look up at Him. Do you see Him there? He is a mass of blood and torn tissue. He has no form nor comeliness; and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Why is He hanging there?
To save others. He, himself, he could not save, because someone had to pay the price of sin.
Who was so important to him that he chose to allow the Romans to bind him. You see, no one took his life. He laid it down of his own accord. As the poet so rightly penned,
The Maker of the Universe, As man for man was made a curse; The claims of laws which He had made, Unto the uttermost He paid. His holy fingers made the bough Which grew the thorns that crowned His brow. The nails that pierced his hands were mined In secret places He designed; He made the forests whence there sprung The tree on which His body hung. He died upon a cross of wood, Yet made the hill on which it stood. The sky that darkened o’er His head By Him above the earth was spread; The sun that hid from Him its face By His decree was poised in space; The spear that spilled His precious blood Was tempered in the fires of God. The grave in which His form was laid Was hewn in rock His hands had made; The throne on which He now appears Was His from everlasting years; But a new glory crowns His brow, And every knee to Him shall bow.
Why would he do such a thing? Who in the world was so important that the creator of the universe suffered humiliation, was spat upon, was slapped, was mocked, beaten with whips? Who was so important that the one who made Heaven and Earth would die upon a cross of wood, though he made the hill on which it stood? Who was so important to him that he suffered, being stripped naked, open for all to see? He suffered shame, for who? Who could be so important to the Lord Jesus that he would choose to die, rather than to save himself?
Hebrews 12:2,
“looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame…”
Jesus endured the cross for a reason. For the joy set before him. You were that joy. You were the reason.
Jesus told the parable of the pearl of great price. About a merchant who saw a pearl that he considered so valuable that he went and sold all he had to purchase it. You are that pearl.
He told the parable of the treasure hidden in a field, which when a man had found it, he sold everything he had to purchase the field. You are that treasure. The field is the world. He purchased the world to get the treasure.
You are the one. You were more important to him. He sold all that he had to purchase you. He could not save himself, because then he could not have saved you. He gave all that he had, his body, his soul and his spirit, to purchase you.
Isaiah 53:4-5,
“Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
Jesus read from the book of Isaiah, in Luke 4:18,
““The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;”
He saved others. He could not save himself. But he did much more than save you. He could have just died, but he suffered. He suffered in his body, that you might be healed. He suffered emotionally, he was heartbroken, that the broken-hearted may be healed. He suffered mentally, in anguish, that those who are tormented in their minds may be delivered. He purchased your total peace. He paid the price for your guilt, that you might have the blessing of his perfect innocence.
John 19:30,
“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”
IT IS FINISHED. It is completely complete. It is entirely whole. The work that Jesus did on the cross, the price that he paid was more than enough.
Altar Call
Jesus suffered death so that you might share his eternal life. Jesus was smitten, afflicted, and punished in your place, that you might be forgiven.
If you need to make things right with God, come forward, and we will pray with you. Jesus wants to make you righteous with his righteousness. Your good works will never be enough. Come and be robed in his righteousness. By faith in the cross of Jesus Christ and in his blood, with which he purchased you.
Jesus was wounded for your transgressions. He, who was innocent, was found guilty, so that you, who were guilty, might be found innocent. He who was sinless was made sin for you, that you who were sinful might be made righteous in him.
Jesus was beaten, torn and suffered physical agony, so that your body might be healed.
If you need healing tonight in your body, by his stripes you are healed. Come forward and we will pray with you, by faith, for physical healing. He purchased your healing through his own suffering.
Jesus was made a curse that you might receive the blessing of Abraham, who was blessed in all things. Come by faith, if you need to be blessed, rather than cursed. By the cross, generational curses are broken. He purchased for you the blessing of Abraham, who was blessed in all things.
Jesus suffered mental and emotional anguish, that you might have peace. The chastisement of your peace was upon him. By faith, you are delivered from depression. You are delivered from spiritual and emotional torment. You are set free by the cross of Jesus. By faith in what Jesus did for you. If you are suffering emotionally, or mentally, if you are being tormented, come forward, by faith. Receive his peace. He purchased your perfect peace upon the cross.
Jesus became destitute, impoverished, that you might have abundance. He was stripped of all his worldly possessions, made poor that you might be rich.
God wants you to live a life of abundance, with enough left over to help others. Poverty is a curse, and we are delivered from the curse. The blessings of Abraham are yours, because of what Jesus did for you at Calvary. If you need a financial blessing, come forward. We will pray together, by faith, to break the hold of poverty in your life.
Jesus endured your shame that we might share His glory.
You may be carrying shame around. Shame for the things you have done. Shame for the things someone did to you. But you can be free of shame tonight. He endured shame that you might share his glory. Come to the front, exchange your shame for his glory. Let his Holy presence envelop you, let him remove your shame and robe you in his glory.
Look up at Him. Come to the foot of the cross. He is there for you. He is there for me.
